2 The Nature and Mission of the Church: For more details on this process, see the ―Historical Note‖ that appears at the end of the text. The Church: Towards a Common Vision opens with a chapter that examines how the Christian community finds its origins in the mission of God for the saving transformation of the world. The third chapter focuses on the growth of the Church as pilgrims moving towards the kingdom of God, especially on various difficult ecclesiological questions that have divided the churches in the past.
What aspects of the life of the Church might require further discussion and what advice could your church offer for the ongoing work of Faith and Order in the field of ecclesiology.
God’s Mission and the Unity of the Church
The Church in the Design of God
It was to be a community of worship that would initiate new members through baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity. This saving activity of the Holy Trinity is essential for an adequate understanding of the Church. The origin of the Church is rooted in the plan of the Triune God for the salvation of humanity.”4.
At the heart of the Church's vocation in the world is the proclamation of the Kingdom of God consecrated in Jesus the Lord, crucified and risen.
The Mission of the Church in History
The astonishing development of the means of communication challenges churches to seek new ways to proclaim the Gospel and establish and maintain Christian communities. The progress of a global secular culture challenges the Church with a situation where many question the possibility of faith, believing that human life is sufficient in itself, without any reference to God. In some places the Church is facing the challenge of a radical decline in membership and is seen by many as no longer relevant to their lives, leading those who still believe to speak of the need for reevangelization.
The Importance of Unity
The Church of the Triune God
- Discerning God’s Will for the Church
- The Church of the Triune God as Koinonia
- The Church as Sign and Servant of God’s Design for the World
- Communion in Unity and Diversity
- Communion of Local Churches
The Church is centered and grounded in the Gospel, the preaching of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. 13 See the section "The Church as the "creature of the Gospel" in Lutheran-Roman-Catholic dialogue. Every Christian receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Church and for his or her part in Christ's mission.
The essential catholicity of the Church is undermined when cultural and other differences are allowed to develop into divisions. Apostolic succession in the ministry, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is intended to serve the apostolicity of the Church. 21. In the light of the previous paragraphs (13-22) it is clear that the Church is not simply the sum of individual believers among themselves.
The Church: Growing in Communion
Already but Not Yet
Essential Elements of Communion: Faith, Sacraments, Ministry
Tradition and Holy Scripture‖ and "The role of the theologian in the Christian community", in Ibid., 43-44. Paul emphasizes the connection between the Lord's Supper and the life of the church itself (cf. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit destined for the church's service (diakonia) in love.
Such an exercise of oversight reflects the quality of the Church, as one might call it. Evangelization is thus one of the Church's noblest tasks in obedience to the commandments of Jesus (cf. Different models for this relationship based on contextual circumstances can be legitimate expressions of the Catholicity of the Church.
Our brokenness and division contradict Christ's will for the unity of His disciples and hinder the mission of the Church. The Nature of the Church – Papers presented to the Theological Commission appointed by the Continuation Committee of the World Conference on Faith and Order. 79 Christ and the Church – Report of the Theological Commission for the Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order, Faith and Order Paper 38, July 1963.
Visser ‗t Hooft (Ed.), New Delhi Report – Third Assembly of the World Council of Churches 1961. Robra (Eds.), Ecclesiology and Ethics: Ethical Ecumenical Commitment, Moral Formation and the Nature of the Church. Gassmann, (Eds), Towards Full Koinonia: Official Report of the Fifth World Conference on Faith and Order.
Three particularly important steps have been taken in evaluating the nature and mission of the Church.
The Church: In and for the World
God’s Plan for Creation: The Kingdom
The kingdom of God, which Jesus preached by revealing the Word of God in parables and which was inaugurated by his mighty actions, especially by the Paschal Mystery of his death and resurrection, is the ultimate destiny of the entire universe. The Church was intended by God, not for its own sake, but to serve the divine plan for the transformation of the world. The mission of the Church in the world is to proclaim to all people, in word and deed, the Good News of redemption in Jesus Christ (cf. Mk 16:15).
The Church is called by Christ in the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the reconciliation, healing and transformation of the Father's creation. Christians today are more aware of the wide range of religions different from their own and of the truths and positive values they contain.62 This makes Christians remember those Gospel passages in which Jesus himself speaks positively of them. who were "foreigners" or. Christians recognize religious freedom as one of the fundamental dimensions of human dignity and, in the charity demanded by Christ himself, they seek to respect that dignity and to dialogue with others, not only to share the riches of the Christian faith, but also to evaluate everything. elements of truth and goodness are present in other religions.
Sharing the joyful news of the truth revealed in the New Testament and inviting others to the fullness of life in Christ is an expression of respectful love.63 Within the contemporary context of elevated. This statement follows the discussion of the relationship between mission and world religions at the conference of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelization held in San Antonio in 1989. Some believe that, in ways known to God, salvation in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit is possible for those who do not expressly share Christian faith.
Changes in this matter will have an impact on the way people understand and put into practice the mission of the Church. Within today's context of increasing awareness of the vitality of different religions around the world, how can churches achieve greater convergence on these issues and collaborate more effectively to witness the gospel in word and deed.
The Moral Challenge of the Gospel
What conclusions can be drawn from these biblical teachings regarding the possibility of salvation for those who do not believe in Christ. Others do not see how such a view corresponds sufficiently with the biblical passages about the necessity of faith and baptism for salvation. As churches engage in mutual questioning and affirmation, they express what they share in Christ.
While tensions over moral issues have always been a concern of the church, philosophical, social and cultural developments in today's world have led to the rethinking of many moral norms, causing new conflicts over moral principles and ethical issues to affect the unity of the churches. At the same time, moral issues are related to Christian anthropology, and the gospel is prioritized in the assessment of new developments in moral thinking. Individual Christians and churches sometimes find themselves divided in conflicting opinions about which principles of personal or collective morality are in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, some believe that moral issues are not inherently "divisive", while others firmly believe that they are. Ecumenical dialogue at the multilateral and bilateral level has begun to outline some of the parameters of the importance of moral doctrine and practice for Christian unity.65 If the current and future ecumenical dialogue is to serve both the Church's mission and unity, It is important that this dialogue explicitly addresses the challenges to convergence that contemporary moral issues represent. We invite the churches to explore these questions in a spirit of mutual attention and support.
How could Churches led by the Spirit discern together what it means today to understand and live faithfully to the teaching and attitude of Jesus. How can churches, as they engage in this task of discernment, offer appropriate models of speech and wise counsel to the societies in which they are called to serve.
The Church in Society
Eph. 5:25) and until the marriage feast of the Lamb in the kingdom of heaven (cf. Therefore it is not surprising that a strong emphasis on ecclesiology – the theological question about the Church – accompanies the history of the modern ecumenical movement. On Based on the churches' responses to the findings of that meeting71, the organizers of the 1937 Second World Conference on Faith and Order proposed that the overarching theme for the next World Conference would be 'The Church in the Purpose of God'72.
Beliefs – A Selection from the Responses of the Churches to the Report of the World Conference on Faith and Order, held at Lausanne in 1927. An Introduction to the Work of the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches, Faith and Order Paper 3, Geneva: Faith and Order, 1950, 34. The First Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in Amsterdam August 22 to September 4, 1948.
76 The Church – A report of a theological committee of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches in preparation for the Third World Conference on Faith and Order to be held in Lund, Sweden, in 1952. This was precisely the theme of the study report79 presented eleven years later to Section I of the 1963 Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order, entitled “The Church in the Purpose of God”80. Breaking Barriers: Nairobi 1975 – The Official Report of the Fifth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Nairobi, November 23 - December 10, 1975.
The Unity of the Church and the Renewal of the Human Community‖89, which underlined the nature of the Church as a sign and instrument of God's salvific design for the world. Twelve working groups discussed the Nature and Mission of the Church and made detailed assessments of the text. 97.
